Nepal s Kami Rita Sherpa climbs Mt. Everest for 22nd time (Lead)

Kathmandu May 16 (IANS) Nepal s Kami Rita Sherpa on Wednesday set a new world record by scaling Mount Everest for the 22nd time. The 48-year-old Sherpa successfully reached the 8 848-metre high peak on Wednesday morning breaking the previous record of 21 climbs jointly held by fellow Nepalis Appa Sherpa and Phurba Tashi Sherpa.Sherpa climbed the Everest for the 21st time in 2017. He has climbed most of the peaks above 8 000 metres which included K2 Cho-oyu Lhoste and Annapurna.Although Sherpa was scheduled to climb the world s tallest peak on Thursday he achieved the feat a day before surprising all his mountaineering colleagues and officials."It has obviously excited me with the feeling that I am going to set a new world record. But I am not overexcited as it is a part of my professional job " Sherpa had said before leaving Kathmandu for the expedition. He made his first ascent of the Everest in 1994 when he was 24 years old. One of his 21 Everest ascents was made from the Chinese side in 2016.More than 60 mountaineers including Sherpa have successfully climbed the Everest since the beginning of the climbing season in 2018.According to Nepal s Tourism Department 346 mountaineers from Nepali and foreign teams had taken the permits for the expedition this year.